Fortnite creators will soon be able to sell in-game items

Epic is continuing its attempts to turn Fortnite into a platform that’s bigger than just battle royale — this time by giving creators the ability to make and sell in-game items. Starting in December, Fortnite creators will be able to sell items directly from the islands they’ve built, using new tools that will be launching later on.

The benefit, of course, is that creators on the platform will have a new revenue stream (currently, they earn revenue primarily based on engagement numbers). And Epic says that they’ll normally earn “50 percent of the V-Bucks value from sales in their islands,” though through 2026 that number will temporarily be at 100 percent presumably to encourage developers to take part. As for what “V-Bucks value” entails, well, it’s a complicated calculation.

Here’s Epic’s explanation:

To determine the V-Bucks value in US dollars in a given month, we take all customer real-money spending to purchase V-Bucks (converted to US Dollars), subtract platform and store fees (ranging from 12 percent on Epic Games Store to 30 percent on current consoles), and divide it by the total V-Bucks spent by players. Fortnite’s average platform and store fees are currently 26 percent (with specific fees ranging from 12 percent on the Epic Games Store to 30 percent on console platforms). So, 50 percent of V-Bucks value translates to ~37 percent of retail spending, and 100 percent of V-Bucks value translates to ~74 percent.

In terms of actually creating these items, Epic says that creators will be able to utilize “a Verse-based API and new UEFN tools to create and offer purchasable durable items and consumable items in their games,” and that details are coming “soon.”

Meanwhile, in November Epic will be adding a “sponsored” row to Fortnite’s discover feed, which will let creators spend money for increased visibility for their islands. Also coming is a community tool that will let creators speak more directly to players for sharing updates and soliciting feedback.

Notably, Epic says that it will be taking a cut of both the sponsored row and user-created item sales because it has been “operating the business at a loss.” The developer explains that “This model will enable Epic to cover the costs of servicing the Fortnite ecosystem. The funds that don’t go back to creators contribute to server hosting costs, safety and moderation costs, R&D and other operating expenses.”